I walked BF and GF at the park and there were lots of folks which I figured to be parents and their high school children. There were lots of high schoolers in gowns and tuxes with a few cumberbunds. We young men back then wore all either white tuxes or colored blue, red etc. I recall none wearing black. At the park I felt like I was seeing a real life Guys and Dolls performance with the young men in black. Like Brando in the movie. When did black tux become a thing with black shirt and pants for the prom?

I flashed back to 1984. My prom. I had a blue tux, blue cumberbund and white shirt. My date had a nice beautiful white gown. I had known her since second grade and we knew each other better in grade school and jr high. We would still say hi to each other and chit chat. We belonged to same Catholic Church. I had no prom date so I asked her. She said she would think about it, a week later she said yes.

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She had a drivers license I was still taking lessons. I waited to senior year to go for my license. Not unusual. I think.

So she picked me up. My mother and late grandmother took seemingly a zillion pictures.

We went to the prom, she was extremely distant. I thought it was me. We danced a few times. She was that night the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. We then left circa 10pm. Strangely except for hellos over the next few years that was the last I really spent time with her.

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A couple of days later a mutual friend thanked me for going with her that she was very depressed over her breakup and events in her life. I found out the following fall she knew she was pregnant and was married at this point. Her uncle a cop urged the boy to get back with her, at least that was the rumors. Having been childhood friends with uncle’s son I believe it more then not especially in retrospect.

I always regretted not staying in closer touch with her during high school. She went to a Girls Catholic School, me the Boys Catholic School. I remember laughing with her and talking about tv and books in grade school. We sat next to each other for a couple of years. In junior high we shared a few classes together.

Only in church would we say hello and ask how you are doing.

Then in high school it went down to a few hellos prior to the prom. I have no idea why I even asked her.

Oddly in college I ran into a former grade school classmate that I hardly talked to then and we went out for a long time. I was a horrible boyfriend. I so miss her but not enough to see her again. We were on two different trajectories in life, she was a very devout Catholic. My mother recently bumped into her father and they talked about us. He said she was still single then my mother said same about me.

Now I am depressed. I do not want to see the prom pictures what’s in my minds eye for me are the pictures reality may change that.